Explosion in Beirut: no survivors removed from rubble after three days of research

The search continues, on September 5, 2020, in the rubble of a building in Beirut where signs of life have been spotted.

Mohamed Azakir / Reuters

Text by: RFI Follow

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More than a month after the double explosion in Beirut which left 191 dead, more than 6,500 injured and destroyed part of the Lebanese capital, relief work continued on Saturday 5 September.

The search is focused on the rubble of a building, in the hope of finding a survivor.

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With our correspondent in Beirut,

For the third consecutive day, searches continued on Saturday September 5 in a building destroyed by the

4

, in the district of Gemmayzé, one of the most affected in

.

Work began on the site on Thursday, after a team of Chilean rescuers specializing in locating survivors detected "signs of life" under the rubble.

2% chance of finding a survivor

A sniffer dog spotted "heartbeats," and proof of life was confirmed by thermal scans.

This announcement, a month after the disaster, caused great emotion in the country.

Dozens of journalists from around the world sometimes cover live, all day long, the work of Lebanese and Chilean rescuers.

But so far, no survivors have been removed from the rubble of the building, and the odds of finding someone alive are dwindling by the hour.

A member of the Chilean team told reporters that the hope of finding a survivor is 2%.

Despite this, rescuers assured that the search, which was interrupted during the night, will continue.

Saturday, a large volume of rubble was cleared, allowing to clear a stairwell, but without result at this stage.

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